Cracked Marble: The Outtakes
by sanguinescriptor
Summary: Snippets of the story that did not quite fit. Some flashbacks may also be posted here or alt POVs. M because vampires will be vampires.
1. Outtake 1

**Author's Note:**

Hi. This is something that I wrote while I was editing the last chapter. It did not quite fit, but I thought it was too good to just toss aside. I don't know how often I'll post outtakes, but they will all go here. This one introduces another OC, while confirming the fate of dear old Nellie. Enjoy!

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Outtake

Carlisle POV

Summer 1918

"Dr. Cullen, Dr. Cullen! Another patient has been brought in showing flu-like symptoms!" The nurse's shrill voice grated on my ears as she ran down the corridor toward me with the patient's chart in her hand. She could have whispered and I would have heard her. I was on my way to meet the new doctor that would replace me starting the next day.

"That makes seven so far tonight," I replied. I knew the flu pandemic would make its way to Chicago sooner or later; it had devastated New York City in the spring, after laying waste to large swaths of Europe and the rest of the Old World. The war did little to help because soldiers brought the flu virus with them wherever they went. I took the chart from her and kept walking; I would read the report later, eager to get to my office to talk with the new doctor. It was rare to meet another doctor that willingly wanted to work nights at a hospital. Most of my colleagues over the years had been men on their way out of the profession, or who were working nights as a form of punishment.

As I walked toward my office, I skimmed over the patient's chart. Her name was Nellie Elizabeth O'Grady, a retired housekeeper with an almost spotless medical history. If she were lucky, she would last a few days, maybe a week or so, before succumbing to the flu. As of tomorrow, I would no longer be the doctor here, seeing how I had enlisted to join the war effort. What happened to Mrs. O'Grady was out of my hands and in the hands of the new doctor.

I froze as I neared my office; there was another vampire present in the hospital. As predators, we were hardwired to protect ourselves from any possible threat. I swallowed the venom that flooded my mouth in preparation to defend myself. I did not smell any blood in the building, besides the stale, sick blood of the patients. If they were still here, they had not fed yet and this bode well for them, since it offered a chance to talk to them without resorting to violence.

"So you are the animal drinker that I have heard so much about." The door to my office opened and out stepped the vampire whose presence I had felt. His accent took a while to place; he was definitely from the Old World. Perhaps he had been French or Italian during his human life. Accents were tricky things when it came to us vampires. The more we traveled, the older we got, the less we sounded like our former selves. I was startled to see his eyes were red—not the deep rich crimson that I have come to know all my life, but a soft, muted red. Was this man seeking me out because he wanted to try my way of life?

"You drink from humans," I said, looking behind me to ensure we were alone in the corridor before stepping inside my office and closing the door. A hospital reeked of death, of decay and mostly of blood, and vampires found this place to be irresistible. If it were not for the Volturi and their laws, hospitals would be a buffet for our kind.

"I do, but only those close to death. It explains the color of my eyes; the current pandemic has been a feast like one I have not seen in centuries," the man replied, smirking. "My name is Gregorio Romano, and you must be Dr. Cullen. I am amazed that you work among the humans daily and do not drink from them."

"You are not the doctor replacing me, are you?" I asked him.

"I am. I start tomorrow night," he replied.

"You cannot! You drink from humans, I protested

"I was a doctor in my former life, Dr. Cullen. The love of medicine was one of the few things that I carried with me from my human days, and I have long practiced my particular diet."

"Why the dying?" I asked, curiosity eating at me.

"To taste death," he replied. "Its touch on us is fleeting. Only beheading and the flames will bring us true death. Humans face it every single moment of every day. A part of me envies them, while the other is like a small child, wanting what I cannot have."

"You drink from them because you want to die?"

"Yes and no," Gregorio replied with a smile. "I have no desire to die, and if I did, the Volturi would kindly give into my demands after I broke one of their rules. I am like a moth to the flame. I am engrossed by death, by its movements, its strange dance among the humans. Look at this plague for example; it is killing this generation's youth. In twenty years, the humans will write about how this pandemic targeted those that should be better suited to resist succumbing to the disease."

Oddly enough, his words made sense, and after all, his reasoning was his own. It was clear that healthy humans did not entice him. The rest of the night was spent doing rounds with the doctor that was to replace me, making sure he was a competent doctor. We talked at length about medicine, about this pandemic that was killing humans by the thousands every day globally. His skills far surpassed my own, and as the night gave way to an overcast dawn, I left the hospital content it was in good hands.

What I read in his comments was that he was like me. He was lonely. Centuries of solitude had marked us, making us different from our peers. As I raced home to pick up my belongings, I thought about my reasons for joining the war and the promise I made to young Edward Cullen. I still did not understand what compelled me to offer my assistance. It was almost certain that he would die if he managed to make it to the train and depart with us. With no training or knowledge of the war, the boy was just cannon fodder to be used and forgotten. I was determined to make sure that he returned home. If Gregorio was fascinated by death, I made life my companion. I wanted humans to live their lives. A finite life, one with a beginning, middle and an end so different from our own.


	2. Outtake 2: Gregorio POV

I have fantastic betas, thanks _mcc101180 __and__ BelleDuJour __for your awesome work!_

**Gregorio POV**  
_March 1919  
Mississippi_

"I cannot do this!" I winced as Bella shattered another teacup trying to pick it up, her frustrated outburst almost painful to my ears. I should have brought cheap china for this exercise, instead of using a vintage 17th French set that was now mismatched thanks to her.

"I am sorry, Gregorio, I promise to replace it." I shook my head at her reply. In the three months since I had changed her, it still caught me by surprise that she could hear my thoughts. After being alive for almost four centuries, I had not come across a vampire with such a talent. Her power easily rivaled Aro's, but unlike him, she did not need to touch a person to read their thoughts, thus making her the better telepath.

"Who is Aro?" Bella asked, her fingers holding on to the handle of another cup too gingerly to pass for a human. At least I could take comfort that she was not about to break it.

"I know we have discussed this before, but is there any way for you not to read my every thought?" I snapped angrily, more out of fear of what Aro would do in order to add her to his collection.

"Sorry," she replied, putting the cup down a bit too hard on the table. I feared it would shatter, but it did not. She was already out of the room before I thought to follow her. I heard the soft locking of her bedroom door, pleased that she did not slam it again.

_Bella, I am sorry. I just wish that my thoughts were my still my own, and it is going to take time knowing that you hear them. In this matter, I am as much a newborn as you are. Forgive me for my outburst and come back downstairs. You still have the rest of my tea set to destroy. _

I was pleased to hear her laugh, and a few seconds later, she appeared back in our kitchen.

"I wish I could turn it off, but nothing works. I cannot imagine going out into a crowd of people again and being assaulted by their every thought on top of wanting their blood. I did not mean to pry, but you were thinking of another telepath and I was curious. Do you think he could help me control it?"

I snorted at her innocent question; if I lived another three hundred years, I would do my damndest to keep Bella far away from Aro. She was giving me a curious look; I did not need her talent to know she was bursting with questions thanks to my train of thoughts.

_Aro is the de facto leader of the Volturi—_

"What is the Volturi?"

_I was about to get to that before you interrupted me. I have been too concerned about integrating you into the human world and have somewhat neglected to teach you about the world I brought you into. The Volturi are the closest thing we have to royalty in our world—in your case, think of them as the President and Congress all wrapped up together. They are the makers and enforcers of our laws. They alone are judge, jury, and executioner_

"And this Aro guy is a mind reader like me?"

"No, he is not exactly like you. While you can read everyone thoughts at the same time, Aro has to touch the person to read their thoughts. You read whatever the person is actively thinking about, he reads every thought a person has ever had."

"So if he is not actually touching anyone, he does not hear thoughts?" Bella asked, almost in awe.

"No. I do not need your talent to see where your thoughts are going. We will never seek Aro out."

"Why not?"

"Because he will do everything in his power to add you to his collection."

"I will never join this Volturi group you are talking about. You are my sire, and like a father to me!"

_That matters little to him when he comes across a vampire he wants. The tie between a vampire and their sire is second only to the tie between mates. I have witnessed him break through both bonds over the centuries. What Aro wants, Aro simply gets. _

"I will not let him manipulate me," she replied angrily. "I will kill him first."

"No, he will not be the one trying to manipulate you. That is what he has Chelsea for," I replied. "Her gift is the ability to manipulate the emotional ties of people. And you will not get to chance to attack him. A single word from him and his guards will tear you apart."

"The Volturi sound absolutely scary," Bella whispered. I pulled her into my arms, hugging her very much the same way someone would do a frightened child.

"They are. When a talented vampire comes across them, there are only two choices—join the Volturi or final death. In all my years, I have only heard of one sole vampire leaving the Volturi." Bella hugged me tighter, and I winced in pain.

"Sorry," she muttered, loosening her hold but not breaking the hug.

_It is okay. Just like the teacup, I know you did not mean it. As for the Volturi, do not worry about them. I will keep you safe, Isabella. I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety, I swear it. Now let us forget about the Volturi and return to practice. You cannot hole yourself up in this house forever; you have to learn how to pass for a human. Human girls do not crack and shatter teacups when picking them up, young lady. _

"I do not think I want to be around humans. Too many thoughts." She frowned unhappily.

"If you want me to go to Chicago to finish attending to the last bits of your human affairs, and to inquire about Edward, I have to be okay with the thought of leaving you alone." At the mere mention of the boy's name, I saw sadness seep into Bella. It was very likely that she was sending me on a fool's errand; the boy could very likely already be dead.

"Do not think like that," she cried out sadly. "Maybe he is not dead, maybe he is back in Chicago, alone and frightened."

"What if he is alive? Bella, you are dead. To humans and their records, you died last September of the flu. What are you going to, change him?"

"Yes, of course. I love him!"

"I know that you believe that you love him, but human love is nothing like the love between vampires. In a few years, okay maybe a few dozen decades, you will meet your mate. You will see that what you feel for him will not compare to what you feel for this silly human boy."

Bella heaved the whole tea set at my head. "I cannot believe you just said that! I cannot believe you think that after you have read my diaries and letters!" She stormed out of the room, and this time there was a resounding boom and a crack as she slammed her bedroom door. As I stared at the remains of the tea set, I realized I was wrong to think that what she felt was just residual petty human emotions.

_I am sorry. _I really was, mostly because I knew that hope she was clinging to was going to shatter once I returned from my trip to Chicago. The chances were not in her favor, and reality was the only thing that could penetrate our hard exteriors to inflict pain.

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**Author's Note**

The outtakes will usually be in a POV other than Edward and Bella's, and sporadically updated. If you're on twitter, feel free to follow me! My twitter name is sanguinescript :)


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